By Jeff Zbar 
www.homeofficehighway.com

Are you a power broker? You have your laptop and broadband wireless card that provide access to the connected world. You may even have a back-up laptop battery in case your first does during the middle of a major project or especially thoughtful missive.

But what about the power that empowers you? Whether you’re in an RV or a hotel room, the stuff we use — our laptops, portable printers, iPods and cell phones — invariably require more power than some measly little two-plug wall outlet will provide.

So, power up.  read more »

By Jeff Zbar 
www.homeofficehighway.com

When I first saw the RV we’d be driving for Home Office Highway, I wondered how I’d make the most of what was by all accounts a miniature space.

Some concepts and practices fell right into place — like using the Mobile Office Workmate or keeping clutter to a minimum. And some were learned, and depended upon the tools we had on hand.  read more »

• by Jeff Zbar

By Jeff Zbar 
www.chiefhomeofficer.com

On any given day, millions of netizens can be found sitting at a cyber cafe, coffee shop or other locale featuring public wi-fi, sipping coffee and tapping away on laptops. Wireless broadband keeps them surfing the Internet, but could someone be “sniffing” around their laptops – or using their connections to the public network to tap into their hard drives? Could they be planting a virus or stealing data? Internet lounges, cyber cafés and hotspots that offer wireless networking for laptop users can be great for those who work remotely. But hackers and cyber criminals have learned how to exploit user’s bad online habits. They’ll lurk on the network to “sniff” e-mails hunting for passwords, log-on pass codes and other data being sent electronically.

They’ll send pop-ups that tempt users to click to open – and thereby possibly launching a malicious attack. Hackers have even created an “Evil Twin,” or a realistic yet fake wireless networks that lures users to sign up with their credit card and other personal information. Once invaded, hackers can look at the hard drive, steal data, or install a Trojan designed to execute any number of functions – often without the owner even knowing.  read more »

• by Jeff Zbar

By Jeff Zbar 
www.chiefhomeofficer.com

For years, this home officer has griped about the sad realities of mobility. Sure, our technology is getting smaller and smaller. Wireless phones, cameras, PDAs and MP3 players all fit in our pockets. Heck, most can even fit in one pocket all at once. But the bricks and cables that power them require cargo pants or cavernous laptop bags – which in short order are converted into rats’ nests of tangled cables. And no one has created a laptop insert into which we can organize all our devices, cords, cables, bricks and the like. But what if… What if one device could solve the power and empowering woes of the modern road warrior? A solution could just be the CallPod by ChargePod. This funky little gizmo can charge up to six devices – at once.  read more »

• by Jeff Zbar